Labour Day and Maypole
1 May 2026 — A pole, ribbons and a dance – May is here, join the circle!
On 1 May, Germany observes a nationwide public holiday, Labour Day, which has its roots in the labour movement and the struggle for the eight-hour working day. The same day is marked in many German villages and towns by an older custom: raising the Maibaum, or maypole. This is a tall, stripped tree trunk decorated with a wreath, coloured ribbons and often signs showing the local trades. It is usually raised in the square by many hands, accompanied by music, dancing and shared food. In some places, young people guard it on the night before, so that a neighbouring village cannot steal it. Customs of welcoming spring with trees and greenery are old in Central Europe and express joy at the return of life after winter. The date also sits in the bright part of the year: in early May the days are long, and the evening sky stays light longer before the stars appear.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver star figure made of luminous dots and thin lines, like a constellation drifting across the sky: a tall maypole crowned with a wreath and streaming ribbons, with several dancing couples winding around it in a spiral
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